New software system, developed as part of a joint development project, will prevent excessive container roll at sea.

Lloyd’s Register has awarded Approval in Principle  to Hyundai Heavy Industries  for its new Onboard Guidance System, which is designed to prevent excessive container roll at sea for containerships.

The system, developed through a Joint Development Project with HHI, Eastern Pacific Shipping and Lloyd’s Register, evaluates the stability of the roll motion of the container ship in operation. The solution considers various loading conditions and sea conditions and provides operation guidance on board based on actual operational information in connection with Hyundai Global Service ’s Integrated Smartship Solution.

During the approval process, the Onboard Guidance System was tested in September 2022 as part of a pilot on Eastern Pacific Shipping’s 15,100 TEU class containership. LR also suggested rules, requirements, and guidance for the system as part of the AiP.

Nick Gross, Global Containership Segment Director, Lloyd’s Register, said: “Approval in Principle for HHI’s Onboard Guidance System is a meaningful milestone for preventing container roll at sea. Also known as Parametric Rolling Movement (PRM), container roll can cause a ship to dangerously roll at extreme angles, sometimes culminating in a vessel capsizing. This software is a crucial tool in preventing PRM and improving safety at sea. Lloyd’s Register is proud to continue our strong relationship with HHI with this approval.”

Seungho Jeon, Chief Technology Officer, Hyundai Heavy Industries, said: “We are pleased to be awarded Approval in Principle from Lloyd’s Register. With the development of the technology, our clients are able to reduce unnecessary cost due to the loss of containers and HHI has come to secure differentiated competitiveness as a shipbuilder that ensures safe operation at sea. It also has a significant meaning in that we have established a foundation for further advancing the system by completing a pilot test on the EPS vessels in operation.”

LR has a long-standing relationship with HD HYUNDAI which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The milestone was marked by several projects with HD HYUNDAI including AiP for two container ships equipped with various measures for mitigating container loss at sea, SCA (Software Conformity Assessment) for HHI’s Digital Hi-PIX Digital Twin core technology to predict the structural integrity of an IMO Type B fuel tank along with the announcement of a Joint Development Project (JDP) to promote a new way of working with a ‘Future Shipyard Model’.

Container safety remains a key issue that the maritime industry must come together to address. Fire and cargo loss at sea not only have an immediate impact on the safety of those onboard but also creates the risk of significant environmental damage as well as severe financial loss. LR has recently joined the Safetytech Accelerator’s Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative (CFLII),alongside Evergreen Line, HMM, Maersk, the Offen Group, ONE (Ocean Network Express) and Seaspan. The initiative aims to find and advance technology innovations from across maritime and other industrial sectors to reduce the incidence and impact of cargo fires or cargo loss overboard.